and the One who directs every affair.
Had Solomon—peace be upon him—made an exception in his oath by saying, “if Allah wills,” he would have achieved his purpose and obtained what he desired. Yet Allah ordained the incident to serve as legislation for His creatures and as a lesson and admonition for all humankind.
Lessons derived from the ḥadith:
1- Adding the exception “if Allah wills” to an oath is highly beneficial in securing one’s objective and obtaining one’s wish, for Allah’s will prevails over all things and brings blessing and good fortune.
2- A person who makes such an exception does not incur the penalty of breaking his oath, because he has linked it to Allah’s will.
3- This ḥadith contains a striking admonition that befell a prophet of Allah who resolved upon a matter without invoking the divine will. His closeness to the Almighty could not secure his request once he had forgotten to mention it—so what, then, of those beneath the prophets in rank and station? Glory be to You, O Lord, all-wise in Your nurturing.
4- The everyday habits of Allah’s prophets and His friends become acts of worship by virtue of their righteous intentions. They engage in marital relations, for example, to safeguard their private parts and their eyes from the unlawful, to protect their wives, or to be granted righteous offspring—or for all these aims together. Because of such noble intentions, a customary act turns into worship. The heedless, by contrast, allow even their worship to sink to the level of habit: they come to the mosque for prayer merely out of custom, with no remembrance of Allah alive in their hearts. To Allah we belong and to Him we return.
5- Allah ordains events of this sort for the most complete of His servants so that people may see that the whole matter rests with Him alone, that He alone plans and disposes, and that He has no partner in His judgment or command.
6- Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd said: One may also infer from the ḥadith the permissibility of stating that something will happen on the basis of strong conjecture, for Solomon’s statement was not revelation; had it been revealed, what he foretold would have been inevitable.
Fifth Ḥadith
From ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd—may Allah be pleased with him—who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever swears a deliberate, persevering oath (yamin ṣabr) in order to usurp the property of a fellow Muslim—acting wickedly in so doing—will meet Allah while He is angry with him.” Concerning this the verse was revealed: “Indeed, those who trade the covenant of Allah and their oaths for a small price…” to the end of the verse ⦗3:77⦘.